Mr. Whammy Continues to Cheer for Nets in Brooklyn

March 20th, 201310:07 am

Derrel Johnson

The Brooklyn Nets recently began their season-long eight game road trip and will not return to Barclays Center until April 4.

In their last time out at home, on Sunday, the Nets hosted the Atlanta Hawks. The jumbotron showed an image of a cheering Bruce Reznick. As soon as he appeared, many of the fans at Barclays Center began to cheer. If you have been to any Nets games over the past 16 years, you may know Mr. Reznick by his alter ego, Mr. Whammy.

He took the time to speak with SNY.tv about himself and about being a Nets fan.

Mr. Whammy (Photo: Anthony Montalvo)

The most popular Nets fan began his journey with the franchise 16 years ago.

“A friend of mine had season tickets and he sold me half a season,” Mr. Whammy told SNY.tv.

“I loved it so much, I bought my own!” he said, who often attends games with his wife Judy, also known as Ms. Whammy. The pair has also been shown on the popular Kiss Cam, also to the loud applause of Nets fans.

Unlike some of the other well-known fans of the Nets, Mr. Reznick, who at first glance resembles Woody Allen, has continued to support the team and attend games after the team moved to its new home at Barclays Center. For Mr. Whammy, though, that’s not a problem.

“I live in Brooklyn, I was raised in Brooklyn,” he revealed. So, for him, the move to Barclays has probably been a bit of a blessing.

Because of a busy career as an attorney and with a healthy practice in New Jersey, Mr. Whammy isn’t able to attend as many games as he once was.

Derrel Johnson and Mr. Whammy (Photo: Anthony Montalvo)

When asked for his thoughts on the current Nets team, Mr. Whammy began his response with a statement about his unwavering support of the team.

“I’ve been through the best, I’ve been through the worst,” he said, referring to Jason Kidd leading the team to two NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003, and the 12-70 season 2009-2010.

“They’re almost to the point where they are real comfortable with each other,” he said about the current nucleus of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and 2013 NBA All-Star Brook Lopez.

And as for the franchise’s decision to relocate? Mr. Whammy fully supports the move.

“Ingenious move,” he said, emphatically. “You have to give all of the top-echelon people major credit. They brought major sports back to Brooklyn.” He also made sure to mention those who deserve the most credit for the move. “My admiration is for Mr. Ratner who started it, and Mr. Prokhorov, who finished it, from opposite ends of the world.”

Indeed, it was Bruce Ratner who spearheaded the move to Brooklyn and Mr. Prokhorov—who purchased the team in September 2009—who are most responsible for the move, but it would not be a success thus far without die-hard Nets fans, and none rank above Mr. Whammy.

Although the franchise has relocated, Mr. Whammy has already become a fixture at Barclays Center. He is conspicuous by his absence and is the epitome of a die-hard fan. As the Nets look to close their inaugural season in Brooklyn with an Atlantic Division title, fans back home will continue to keep their fingers crossed until their team returns home on April 4.

Derrel “Jazz” Johnson is a Contributor to SNYNets.com and is the Founder of the Razz and Jazz Sports Blog. You can follow him on Twitter @razzjazzsports